Fights in Clayton County schools are up 200% so far this year compared to the same period last year, just three weeks into the new school year.
In a YouTube Live address earlier this week, Clayton County Schools Superintendent Morcease Beasley said fights have become so persistent — especially in the district’s high schools — that principals asked him to go public with the problem and ask for help from parents.
The request came four months after the south metro district banned book bags and use of lockers because of a surge in weapons on school properties.
An Atlanta Journal-Constitution investigation found that school officials confiscated close to 100 weapons during the last academic year, including an AR-15 assault weapon. There was no evidence anyone was injured by the weapons.
“Clearly this year we are working to address those students that are making decisions that will place themselves and their education at risk,” Beasley said. “Parents we need your support.”
The district could not be immediately reached to find out how many fights the school system has recorded so for this year. Classes began in Clayton County on Aug. 3.
Other metro Atlanta school systems, such as Fulton County, have also seen an increase in fights last academic year. Others, such as DeKalb County, experienced very public fisticuffs among students during the 2021-2022 school year, including a February melee involving many students at Towers High School. That incident ended with police pepper-spraying the group.
For the 2021-22 school year, there were 56,250 incidents of fighting that resulted in disciplinary action in the state’s public schools, according to the Georgia Department of Education.
“We believe we are seeing a decline in the number of guns and weapons that are being brought into the schools,” Beasley said during the Tuesday YouTube Live. “But it seems that once you fix one area you got another area to address. And that area would be physical conflicts.”
The school system hinted that it was struggling with fights when it earlier this month moved the dates for high school football games between rivals Lovejoy and Mundy’s Mill high schools and North Clayton and Riverdale high schools. At the time the district was somewhat vague about the reasons.
“In response to concerns related to the safety for all participants at several key rivalry football games, The Clayton County Public Schools’ Athletic Department has made some adjustments connected with the schedules of two games,” the district said in a statement.
That may have been compounded by an Aug. 19 incident at Mundy’s Mill High School in which a school camera video appears to show a student being body slammed to a floor in the building and repeatedly punched.
The student, who was not identified, suffered several injuries, including a broken collar bone, according to a report by Channel 2 Action News.
The mother of the student accused of slamming the other teen told the TV news station that they were former friends, but had fallen out over a girl. She also claimed that the other student had been picking on her son. Both were 16 at the time.
While student behavior was the subject of the Beasley’s outreach to parents, he also admonished parents indirectly.
“Let’s all as adults model the behavior we expect our children to exhibit,” Beasley said. “We must be parents. We must be the role model. We need you to talk with the staff, not at the staff.”
Staff writer Ty Tagami contributed to this article.
STORY SO FAR
Clayton County Schools banned the use of lockers and bookbags in April. The next month, an AJC investigation found that close to 100 weapons had been confiscated on school property during that academic year. In July, the district mandated use of clear bookbags for new academic year.
